In an earlier post we described how we used an instructional strategy called Team-Based Learning (TBL) in one of the Instructional Design & Technology (IDT) graduate courses at Cerner Corporation. You can read […]

Academic curation is a new way of looking at a familiar concept. What is familiar is the aggregation of different content types (text, links, images, video, etc.) into what we typically see on a webpage.

During the third week in May, the School of Nursing faculty participated in a day of learning to improve alignment of student learning program outcomes and course objectives within the Avila School of Nursing curriculum.

To identify how we could use this day to improve existing excellence within the SoN, the Center worked with the dean and chair of Nursing to create a PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) that directed our efforts to creating change that resulted in improvement. After several meetings we identified the following deliverables as proof of successful change of behavior. These included:

Create a blueprint that aligns course objectives with assignment/assessments in one of your courses.
Created a plan for implementation of assessment blueprints in all of your courses.
Created a rubric for one assignment in one of your courses.
Created a script for intentional sharing of content and competency alignment or rubric.

We began our day with a post it note activity analyzing the following questions:

How do you guide student ownership of informative, formative, and transformative learning?

How does your course design facilitate student ownership of learning?

This activity allowed the faculty to identify those processes that were effective and areas for growth within course design and facilitation.

Next we reviewed the Big Idea of Constructivism within higher education

“‘Constructive’ aspect refers to what the learner does, which is to construct meaning
through relevant learning activities. The ‘alignment’ aspect refers to what the teacher does,
which is to set up a learning environment that supports the learning activities appropriate to achieving the desired learning outcomes. The key is that the components in the teaching system, especially the teaching methods used and the assessment tasks, are aligned to the learning activities assumed in the intended outcomes.” (Biggs, 2003)

The final learning of the morning was an introduction to Mediational Learning Experiences helped faculty to customize course facilitation to help students move between intent, meaning, and transending content presented. The professor should use divergent questions to help facilitate learning.This takes intentional planning. Some questions that could transcend all courses could be:

How will you use the information to become an effective nurse?
Where can you use this information other than in this course or on the state exam?
If (this happened), what would you do and how would you know that your decision was the best choice?
How do you know that information?
Can you ask your question in a different way?
Help me understand how you might do that.
Where else can you go to find that information?
What will you use to assess your confidence level during practice?
What will you do if you are not confident when your are in a clinical experience?
Can you describe how this content will have an impact on your future practice?

The sub-title could be: capturing your lectures on the go. The idea is that you may find something that you want to share with your students and the only thing you have with you is your iPhone. As a student you […]

As of May 1st, Andria Stokes, Director of the Center for Transformational Learning, will be moving from Foyle Hall 924 to Carondelet Hall. With her move, the Center will be located within the instructional […]

As we think about best practices and instructional methods to transform learning at Avila, I thought it might be useful to share a philosophy instructional design known as Universal Design for Learning (UDL). […]

In our second Instructional Design & Technology (IDT) graduate program course, we used a Team-Based Learning (TBL) instructional strategy. This particular class was a cohort at the Cerner Innovation campus. All […]

I use the term Progressive Scaffolding and Evaluation (PSE) to describe a skills development process where students are participants in a process to help each other while developing the evaluation criteria which […]

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The Center for Transformational Learning is the Avila University center of excellence in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Its mission is provide resources and support to faculty, students, and staff in their pursuit of life long learning and transformational growth through self-directed learning.